The Perspective in the Writer
by madbengalsfan85
Summary: With Pelant on the loose and Bones on the run, Booth is at the end of his rope. But a surprise visit from and old friend may be just what the doctor ordered. Post-"Always", Post-"The Past in the Present".
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first foray into fanfiction and I have been nursing this idea for awhile. It occurred to me that in most stories involving the Bones season finale, the team brings Zach in as sort of a secret weapon against Pelant. But what if Castle was brought in instead...someone Pelant can't account for in whatever twisted game he is playing. This takes place 2 months after "The Past in the Present" and about 2 weeks after "Always" (May move this around) because in my head, the Bones timeline is ahead of the Castle timeline.**

It had been two of the longest months of Booth's life. Two months to the day since Brennan had driven off into the sunset, carrying their daughter as she fled the arrest warrant. Booth was still stuck working desk duty, and all he could do was watch as Flynn searched high and low for Brennan, his Bones. It was sobering, knowing that the real criminal had gotten off Scott-free. And Booth couldn't help to blame himself. Pelant was still out there, and Booth was helpless to stop it.

"Damn it," he sighed, rubbing his hands over his tired face. He picked up the stuffed purple elephant off the coffee table, studying it. A small grin came to his face as he recalled the day he bought it.

* * *

"_Look at this, Bones. It's an elephant," Booth exclaimed as he held out the stuffed to in front of Brennan. The two found themselves in a baby store. With two months left until her due date, the pair decided it was best to get much of the baby shopping done now, rather than later_

"_Elephants aren't purple, Booth. Letting our daughter play with one would give her the wrong idea." Brennan accompanied this statement with a pointed stare towards Booth._

"_Bones, she's going to be a baby, I really don't think she's going to care about the color of her stuffed elephant." Booth proceeded to wrap his arm around Brennan, drawing her close. "Think about it...in two months, we'll have our own little bundle of joy...speaking of which, we really need a name for her."_

_Brennan leaned into Booth's embrace. "I'd like to name her Christine...after my mother." Her voice was soft, almost timid as she spoke._

"_I'd like that, Bones. But what about her middle name. Unless we plan on hyphenating our last names." It occurred to Booth that this was a conversation they probably should have had sooner. But, he figured, at least they weren't waiting till the delivery as Angela had predicted._

"_I think I'd like her middle name to be Angela."_

"_Angela would be honored." Booth found himself tearing up slightly, once again amazed by Brennan's open heart._

"_She is my best friend, and she was going to name her baby after me. I think it's only appropriate that I reciprocate."_

"_So, Christine Angela..."_

"_Booth," Brennan whispered. "Christine Angela Booth." Looking at Booth's shocked expression, Brennan continued. "Without you, I wouldn't be having a child Booth. You're the only man I would want this with. And I would be honored to give her your last name."_

_Booth wrapped his arms around her back and hugged her tightly, Brennan reciprocating. He found himself awash in emotion. Booth managed to find his voice after a few seconds. "I love you Bones."_

"_I love you too, Booth." And in the middle of that toy store, Brennan and Booth shared a moment._

* * *

Booth's daydream was abruptly halted by a knock on his door. Booth sighed as he rose off his couch and made his way towards whoever was knocking. Booth figured he was receiving yet another surprise visit from Agent Flynn. But upon opening his front door, he discovered that wasn't the case.

"Kate Beckett?" Booth found himself stunned into silence.

"Long time, no see Booth," Beckett said as she pulled him into a hug. The two went back several years, to a time before her partnership with Richard Castle. Skeletal remains were discovered in an abandoned warehouse, and after coming to a quick dead-end, Booth and Brennan were handed the case. Beckett figured she wouldn't be on this case much longer with some pushy federal agent barging in to take over. But Special Agent Seeley Booth was different. He asked her questions, took her insights seriously, and when an arrest was finally made, she was in on the confession. After the case, Beckett and Booth developed a rapport and the two became good friends.

"Not complaining, but what the hell are you doing in DC?" Booth found himself truly smiling for the first time in a while. It was nice to see a friendly face, especially one that wasn't wrapped up in the investigation

"Castle had a book signing here in town and I figured it would be wrong if I didn't stop by and pay you a visit. You are still my favorite fed."

"Should I be insulted?" But Booth was quick to notice a change in Beckett's demeanor. He couldn't help himself. "Are you and writer boy..."

Beckett was quick to cut him off with a chuckle. "Yes, Castle and I are in a... a relationship." Beckett really didn't know what to call the thing between her and Castle quite yet. Whatever "it" was though, she liked it.

"Told you that you'd eventually would take the plunge. Care to tell me how it happened?"

The smile faded from Beckett's face. "Let's leave that for another day, shall we? How are you holding up, Booth?" Beckett had been following the news. It was a dream scenario for the press: Famous crime novelist on the run herself. And when the fact that her significant other was in fact a federal agent...well, that was the icing on the cake.

With the question, Booth's smile faded as well and his brown eyes took on a haunted appearance. "It's...hard." Booth directed Beckett over to the couch and he pushed forward. "I want to be mad at her...I should be mad at her, she took our daughter, she didn't even warn me. Damn it, Bones was supposed to trust me!" Booth paused as he collected himself. "But...right now I just want my family back. That's all I care about." Beckett caught the crack in his voice and she felt a pang of sympathy for Booth.

"Okay, Booth. Walk me through this" And over the next 10 minutes, Booth gave an abbreviated tour of the Christopher Pelant case. Beckett asked few questions, allowing Booth to talk mostly without interruption.

"...We're at a dead end. We can't makes heads or tails on whatever Ethan Sawyer left for us. The forensic evidence is pointing squarely at Bones and half of the team has been thrown off this case! I...I honestly don't know where to go from here, Beckett." Booth suddenly felt the rush of hopelessness overwhelm him. Beckett, on the other hand was silent, processing what Booth told her about the case. Then an idea struck her. Beckett jumped up, pulling her cell phone out of her pocket while making her way out the front door. Booth sat silent, his eyes watching the door intently, looking for whatever had her in such a rush. He got his answer a few minutes later.

"Booth, how do you feel about going back to New York with us?"

"Wait...what?" Booth was confused. Go to New York...now? In the middle of this investigation.

Beckett, sensing his hesitation began speaking again. "You need a break, Booth. Or at least a change in scenery. And I know someone who can help."

"Who?"

"Seeley, I think it's time you met my partner, Richard Castle." Booth sat silently, going over what Beckett had come up with. He'd heard a lot about the novelist from Beckett. Smart, creative, and very good at thinking outside of the box. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. Everything the FBI and Jeffersonian had tried so far had failed, maybe a new perspective was in order. One not skewered by the taint of Pelant.

"Alright, lets do it. Oh, and Kate?"

"Yeah."

"Don't call me Seeley."


	2. Chapter 2

**May be a bit AU here, especially post-shooting Beckett. I felt that she needed a really good reason to want to help Booth. And since both Beckett and Booth have both been shot, it was a perfect place to go. Not 100% pleased with how this chapter turned out, may alter some of it later.**

Castle didn't have a lot to go on after the phone call from Beckett. She had asked him to fly a friend back with them, and she wanted himself and her to examine a case this mysterious friend was bringing with him. Castle of course was stumped and was about to ask questions until Beckett stopped him. "Rick, trust me." The pursuit of information reached a standstill because Castle did trust her, to hell and back. But once they board Castle's chartered jet, Castle went back to thinking. Booth had fallen asleep in the back seat rather quickly and Castle saw this as his chance to gather at least some information. He had obliged her request, after all.

"So, how do you know him?"

Beckett knew the question would come up eventually. But she was surprised that Castle's tone was not accusatory, just curious. She had to admit...she was expecting some jealousy out of the novelist. "About 6 years ago, a set of decomposed remains were discovered in an abandoned warehouse in the Bronx. I tried to run with the case, but there really wasn't much to work with. Lanie recommended an anthropologist in DC by the name of Temperance Brennan..."

"As in the crime novelist Temperance Brennan?" Noticing the irritated expression gracing Beckett's face, Castle waved his hand for her to continue.

"Anyways, Lanie recommends this Dr Brennan to me. I place a few calls, only to discover that she consults with the FBI."

"And I assume this is where your friend comes in."

"Special Agent Seeley Booth, FBI Liaison to the Jeffersonian Institute." A sigh. " My dislike towards the FBI was worse then than it is now, but since my case was at a dead end I made the call. With most feds I have worked with, they tend to push local PD out almost immediately. We 'get in the way' of things. So Booth and Dr Brennan show up, and commandeer the crime scene. But instead of shooing me away, Booth starts asking me questions, trying to get a feel for a neighborhood. Once he was finished, he asked me to stick around, said he wanted someone who knew the lay of the land. Here I was, ready to tear his head off merely for being there, and he throws me into the case. The crime itself wasn't anything special but Booth and I have been friends ever since."

"Friends, or _friend-friends._" Ahh, there's that jealousy.

"Friends, Castle. Besides, I think Booth was pining for his partner at the time...he sure wasn't real good at hiding it." Beckett had thought it funny at the time. A lot of stolen glances towards Brennan. And course, Brennan was oblivious. Beckett figured that's what people had spent years observing between herself and Castle.

"Okay, so just friends. But for someone who just resigned from the force recently, you sure are eager to jump into the fire again." Castle was quick to notice the look on Beckett's face. "I'm not trying to upset you here Kate, I'm just trying to understand."

Beckett took a deep breath before continuing. Castle, seeing her tension reached out and took her hand, rubbing soft circles over her knuckles "When I was shot, I pushed a lot of people away...especially you. At the time, it was easier for me just to distance myself than to deal with everything the shooting brought up. The sympathy, the concerned looks, your confession...I wasn't ready for any of it."

"And where does Agent Booth fit into this?" He was starting to get some understanding, but he wanted Beckett to finish.

"Talking to Booth was easy because he'd been exactly where I was. Being shot, nearly dying, and seeing people we...care about hovering over us as we blacked out. He came up to New York a couple of times during those months, just to talk. Convinced me that talking to a therapist was worth doing. He convinced me to search you out as well."

"Really?"

"Well, he more or less threatened to shoot me if I wasted any more time." Beckett suppressed a small chuckle.

"Sounds like a persuasive individual."

"Booth helped me put my life back together and I want to repay that by putting his life back together. I owe him that."

"Okay, I understand. Thank you Kate for explaining it to me." Castle did understand, and suddenly found himself grateful for the mysterious fed. "But how does solving this crime help him?"

"His partner, and their daughter are fugitives on the run because someone is trying to pin a murder on her. Booth said that their team had reached a dead end"

"I've met Temperance at several book functions. She's an extremely rational woman. Are we sure it wasn't her."

"I have worked with Bones for over 8 years." At some point, Booth had awoken from his nap and his voice had taken on a quiet, dangerous tone "I have stood over death with her, I have faced down death with her. She didn't do it." A moment of tense silence passed before Booth spoke again. "Sorry Mr Castle."

"Just Castle, or Rick."

"Okay, call me Booth." Booth rubbed a tired hand over his face. "Rick, let me ask you this. Would you be capable of accusing Detective Beckett of murder."

Castle noticed the subtle shift in Beckett's expression with the mentioning of her former title but he decided to ignore that for the time being. "No, I couldn't."

Booth was quick with a response. "Why?"

"Because I've spent nearly 5 years working with her, and I know what she is and isn't capable of." Castle could see the truth in Booth's logic. "Okay, point taken Booth. I apologize if I offended you." Castle felt for the agent. He could only imagine the anguish Booth was feeling, and he fell just a little bit more in love with Beckett for her desire to help a friend,

"No, I shouldn't have snapped."

Beckett turned around to look at Booth. "We will prove her innocent, Booth. You will get your family back"

"Thanks Beckett. For everything." And Booth drifted back to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry updating took so long. Been dealing writer's block. It doesn't help that I am easily distracted. Blame a heavy dosage of Battlefield 3. I'm not done with this chapter yet but I figured I'd give you readers something while I work (or not work, depending on my mood). To all those who have read, and to those who have reviewed...thank you**

**Finding my mojo again, and I even know where I want to go with this now...love it when inspiration strikes. Feel better about this chapter, but dread describing the Sawyer murder...so much to cover. And I think a Booth/ Beckett moment may be in order in some fashion in one of the next couple of chapters**

Castle, Beckett, and Booth found themselves in Castle's living room that night. Castle had wheeled out a large screen, hooked to a laptop. Before plugging up the flash drive Booth ensured the device was off any networks. He wasn't taking any chances.

"Alright Booth, take it away." Beckett remarked with a wave of her hand. She was intrigued by this case, and she could only imagine Castle would feel similar. But she couldn't but reflect on the fact that she wasn't a cop anymore and found herself a bit sullen over that fact. Not that she regretted things with Castle, just that detective work was in her blood. She was quick to jump off that train of thought though.

"First victim was a Dutch immigrant, named Inger Johannsen. Her skull and spinal column were found at the base of the Lincoln Memorial." A picture of the scene appeared on the screen, and Castle stared fixedly at the words written on the statue of Lincoln. He couldn't help to read them out loud.

"Where is the rest of me?" Castle directed his next question to Booth. "I'm assuming you found the rest of her?"

"Yeah, but we'll get to that later. Bones realized on scene that the spinal cord had been rearranged. When..."

"Hold on there, Booth. You're saying the killer...the killer re-arranged the spine." Beckett couldn't help to feel a little queasy after hearing that. "Why?"

"He was sending a message to us. The location of the rest of the remains."

"The message on the statue...was that written in blood?" Castle felt sure he knew the answer but needed to ask anyways. He was glad he did.

"Yes...but not Inger's blood. DNA testing gave us the name of five FBI agents in the DC office. Blood was snagged from the annual blood drive. No clue as to how yet."

"Any of these agents work with you before?" Beckett asked as pictures of each appeared on-screen.

Booth pointed to one of them. "Worked a RICO bust with him a couple of years ago but that was about it. He was a junior agent at the time."

"How did the killer beat the security. Seems a monument like that would be sealed tight?" Castle had a hint of an idea but need more to go on before he blurted it out. But it was something, he figured.

Booth brought up a picture of a mint can filled with circuit boards and cables. "Home-made laser pointer. Found a blind spot and bested a million dollar security system. This gave enough to build a profile though." Booth brought up another image. "Christopher Pelant. Self proclaimed 'hacktivist.' Graduated from MIT and promptly brought down the US Senate website and the DoD's security network. Placed under house arrest..."

"And the tracking monitor gives this Pelant guy an alibi. You sure he's your guy Booth? Because the monitor is pretty hard to work around." Beckett found herself stymied by the serial killer.

"Positive. He pretty much confessed to it when he mentioned the code in the spine."

"I'm assuming forensics didn't tie him into any of this?" Beckett knew the answer but figured he'd ask anyways.

"Right...the son of a bitch has us stuck."

"Back to the body,...where did you find it?" Castle wasn't nearly as interested in the workings of the monitor as he was in the body. The location was part of the puzzle, after all.

"Justice Department Archives Building in DC. Spine gave us the zip code code, phone prefix to the Justice Department, address to the Archives building, a room number and keycode after we figured out the code. Body was found on a box filled with investigations regarding various CI's."

"CIs?"

Beckett jumped in with an answer. "Confidential Informants. What kind of investigations, Booth. Small stuff?"

"No. Extortion, drug trafficking, fraud and all sorts of other major felonies."

"And the FBI tries to hide it. If I was a victim, I'd do just about anything to shed light on it." Beckett thought she saw a motive so she ran with it. It was the cop in her, she figured.

"Pursued that angle as well...dead end."

"So let me get this straight." Castle was trying to put the pieces together, and at times like this, he felt it was good to re-enforce the basics. "You have a murder, committed by someone who couldn't actually commit said murder. The suspect has knowledge on secret files, seems to be brilliant with computers and technology..."

"Oh, there's more. When Angela, our computer expert, scanned the bones her computer caught fire. There was apparently a virus carved into the bones."

"How does that even work...carving a computer virus...into bone." Castle was stumped...was that even possible?

"Angela's theory afterwords was that there was already a bug within her computer, planted by Pelant at some point. The virus merely switched that bug on. Angela said the virus was written in something called fractal imagery...don't know the specifics. But we weren't able to test this because whatever happened also corrupted all of Angela's data."

"Another dead end," Castle was quick to add.

"Yeah, this case is full of those." Booth said with a grunt.

Beckett was quick to get Booth back on track. "You said there was another murder?"

"Yeah, a writer for the Post, Ezra Crane..."

"I knew Crane," Castle chimed in. "Old fashioned writer, believed in print media, and loyalty to his sources. Pompous though."

Beckett gave Castle a questioning look and Castle was quick to catch on. "Met him at various functions in DC over the years. Not a friend by any means but we got along."

"Yeah, well that loyalty to his source didn't do him any good." Booth redirected the conversation. "He was well informed throughout the investigation. He knew about the location of the remains and he knew the significance of that location."

Beckett followed Booth's train of thought. "Pelant was feeding him information, using it as a ploy maybe?"

Booth nooded his head. "We thought it possible at the time. Our profiler, Sweets said Pelant was trying to prove his intellect to the FBI. It's why he used blood donated by other agents, why he left the spine, and why he placed the remains where he did."

"What if that wasn't his reasoning though." Castle noticed the curious expressions on both Beckett's and Booth's face as he continued. "Instead of proving his point, maybe he's trying to test you. He hands you this complicated case, no clear leads and a lot of dead ends...look at it as a puzzle. He wants to see if you can put the pieces together. Crane was collateral damage. If he talks to you and I assume he was close to doing so." A nod from Booth confirmed this. "He talks, and suddenly, test over. Everything Pelant had set in play meant nothing because a reporter could possibly tie him to the crime. So..."

"Pelant kills the messenger." Booth smirked as Beckett managed to complete Castle's sentence. "But it can't be that easy, can it?"

Booth shook his head. "Initial investigation led us to believe Crane was killed by a bang stick to the

head, same murder weapon used on Inger. However, en route to the Jeffersonian the body was rerouted and eventually cremated."

"Rerouted?" Beckett had some trouble wrapping her head around that notion.

"Thorough official channels, if the paper trail is to be believed. And no body means..."

"No evidence." Castle was quick to finish Booth's thought. Gears were spinning in his head as he pondered that last statement.

"Right, and that leaves us at another dead end."

"Not exactly Booth." Castle figured it was time to share his brainstorm. "You assumed that every move Pelant made was through hacking, which based on evidence is a valid theory. But suppose he had help..."

"Someone on the inside!" Beckett exclaimed catching on to Castle's theory. "It explains the blood drive and it explains how Crane's body was rerouted."

"Castle jumped back in. "If I was this Pelant character, I would want someone inside who could pull strings as needed. Nothing over the top because if Pelant is testing your team, he would still want control. It's going to be someone at the bottom of the food chain. Enough power to give Pelant what he needs, not enough to mount a counter attack."

Booth found himself processing this new theory. "You're saying...there is a crooked agent somewhere inside the Hoover working for Pelant." Beckett and Castle nodded slowly. "Son of a bitch." Frustrated, Booth ran a hand down his face. "Everyone associated with Crane's body was polygraphed and they all passed."

"Someone forged those signatures, Booth. Perhaps multiple someones. It's going to be hard to track down who..."

Booth was quick to cut off Castle. "But it's something to pursue." Booth found himself slightly optimistic at the turn of events. Perhaps all hope was not lost.

"I hate to be the one to say it but it's getting late. Booth, feel free to use the guest room, make yourself at home." Castle pointed Booth to the door. "We will continue this in the morning."

As Castle was walked away Booth turned to him. "Thanks, Castle."

Castle looked at him with a small smile. "You helped Beckett. It's the least I could do." A look of mutual respect passed between the two men before both turned their separate ways.

Once in his room, Castle noticed Beckett in his bed. "What brings the the lovely Kate Beckett to my bed this lovely evening?" Humor was evident in his voice.

Beckett offered a flirtatious smile. "Seems you've been a good boy today. You deserve a reward."

"And what that might be Kate?" Castle asked as he brought his face closer to hers.

"Well, you'll just have to find out, now won't you."

"Hmmm," Castle muttered as the two locked lips.


	4. Chapter 4

**First and foremost I need to apologize to my readers. When I started writing this I had a great deal of inspiration. I had it all thought out in my head and I figured it wouldn't be too hard to simply write this story. But as time went on I was flooded with new ideas...so I stopped writing to process them. What I found was that many ideas I had didn't tie in to what I was currently writing. I was about to cancel this story altogether and reconfigure my storyline. I still wanted Castle and Beckett caught up in the slimy web of Pelant but I wanted a better way of doing so. Then I read spoilers for a later episode of Castle (which will remain nameless, but lets just say it gives Beckett and Booth some common ground) and suddenly I figured out how I could both finish this and write a casefic down the road. Before I write that fic though, I need some Bones storylines to play out...current plan is to start posting in December. I will also begin writing various one-shots revolving around the Beckett/Booth friendship (with some Castle/ Brennan thrown in for good measure). Anyway, on with the story**

It was 4 in the morning when Beckett plodded out of the bedroom in Castle's robe. Making her way to the living room, she found Booth staring at the screen, sorting through the various bits of evidence. His face was expressionless but his eyes held a silent intensity that startled her. Her previous plans of rummaging through the fridge were set aside. "Booth, did you sleep at all?"

A frown stretched across his face. "I can't sleep, I haven't really been able to since she left." Booth rubbed a hand down his face as he continued. "Every time I close my eyes, I see her drive off. I keep reliving that moment, over and over." A tear fell down Booth's cheek. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do Beckett." A bitter laugh followed. "You know this isn't even the first time I had to watch her drive away like that. I thought she trusted me, maybe I was wrong."

Beckett was quick to intervene. "I'm pretty sure she does trust you Booth. She trusts that you can fix this, that you can clear her name." Beckett paused before continuing. "You've known Dr Brennan for how many years?"

"8."

"Now answer me this. How does she react to inexperienced crime scene specialists?"

Booth cracked a small smile. "She'll say something about them being 'inadequate' then start giving directions. Usually very precise directions...she does a good job of pissing them off."

"Yeah, Lanie's still ticked at her by the way." Both Beckett and Booth let out a chuckle before she continued. "Since she's left, has she tried to leave you any sort of clues, anything to aide in the investigation."

"No, nothing." Booth found himself struggling find the point Beckett was getting to.

"Like I said, she's trusting in your abilities to clear her name. She knows if she does try to contact you, you could find yourself in trouble. Possibly even losing your job and that's not a risk she would take unless she was desperate. Booth she trusts you, more than you know."

Booth let out a sigh." Maybe you're right...thanks for talking me off that ledge."

Simply repaying a favor." Beckett moved over to Booth's side. "Now what has you looking at evidence so early in the morning."

A sour expression made it's way to Booth's face. "I never even considered these murders an inside job. I was so set on the fact that Pelant was doing this all through hacking that I never considered he had help within the Hoover. Never crossed my mind."

Beckett mulled over her response before continuing. "Okay, I'm going to have to channel my inner Castle to explain this, and if you tell him I said that I will shoot you." A grin from Booth told her to continue. "It's about perspective. Look at this situation as a hurricane. You and your team are in the middle of that hurricane."

"A hurricane?"

"Shut up Booth and let me finish. When you're in that hurricane, you see the wind and the rain and you focus o that because that is all you know. But people outside the storm can tell you what it's doing and where it's going next. Making sense so far?" A nod. "You have a tougher time putting these pieces together because you are knee dip in this shit. But Castle and I aren't so we can see things from a calmer point of view."

Hearing Beckett explain her concept to him brought Booth relief. "So it's not about me failing to figure this out on my own, it's about the fact that everything that has happened to us in this case has tainted my view."

Beckett grinned. "Exactly."

"Thank you Miss Castle." Beckett was quick to elbow Booth in the side, and the two broke out in laughter. After that died down Booth's smile faded. "But seriously Beckett, thanks. For everything"

Beckett nodded, then began to talk again. "What are you going to do when this is over?"

"I don't know. I really haven't figured out how I feel about any of this. I'm angry, I'm hurt but at the same time I'm glad she ran. Because she's safe. Because," Booth paused as he tried to process his thoughts, "because she made the decision I could never had made."

"Promise me Booth, that you won't do anything rash. That you won't walk away from her over this without at least talking about this with her. It's going to hurt like a bitch but you two will survive this." Beckett grinned before finishing her thought. "Because you both are too hard headed and stubborn to do anything else."

A laugh among friends ended the conversation and both Beckett and Booth made their way into the kitchen.

**Not as wordy as I thought it would be, hoping to pick up some steam on this now I'm writing again**


End file.
